Traveling Gluten Free

Our recent trip out to Kansas City really challenged my ability to eat gluten free - and has probably been the cause of some of my recent stomach distress.  It's hard to plug into the local Celiac Community when you travel. 

I have a few things that I always take with me that I know are safe to eat.  Surprisingly, Wal-Mart has become one of the places that I can count on to find portable food that I can eat.

So, what do I eat?

Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Oatmeal Cups.  Most hotels that have a breakfast bar have fruit and nuts that I can add into my oatmeal.  I was able to hit up the breakfast bar every morning with my oatmeal cup and add a couple of spoons of dried mixed berries.  The days that they offered bananas were amazing, as I absolutely love bananas!

Starkist tuna in the pouches.  It's a small pouch of protein!  I depend on these things when I travel.  If I'm lucky, I can find mayo or pickle relish that I can add to it.  If not, then I can eat it straight out of the pouch.  If I can find gluten free crackers to mix it up, I will.

If I'm lucky, and if I can find coconut milk yogurt, I make something with yogurt, fresh fruit, nuts, and whatever else looks tasty that is gluten and dairy free.  These mixtures have been one of my go-to staples for a very long time.

Gluten Free Bread.  Again, if I can find a loaf, I can take a couple of slices with me to the breakfast bar and have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  Never, never, never do I toast the bread in the toaster at the hotel bar.  I heat it, wrapped inside of a paper towel in the hotel microwave for about 10-15 seconds. 

Actually, at the last hotel we stayed at, they had spinach and hard boiled eggs at the breakfast bar.  I made a spinach and egg sandwich with my own mayo for breakfast one day.  I really, really wanted to add sausage, but I wasn't sure if it was gluten free, and I couldn't find anyone to ask.

For dinners, we always stay where we can find a kitchenette.  Salads, quick soups, and sometimes eggs will make up our menu.  I've made tacos, and taco salads over the years.  If we're staying someplace where we can drive, we've been known to take our crock pot with us.  This time, since we were moving middle child into a functioning apartment, I used his kitchen to cook meals every night, and I left him with copious amounts of leftovers.  ;)

One Dish Cuisine

The safe version of Hostess Style Cupcakes!

I don't think I've ever reviewed a restaurant before, but this place deserves some recognition.

One Dish Cuisine is an allergen friendly restaurant.  Everything they make is free of gluten, soy, oats, egg, fish, shellfish, sesame, and tree nuts - except for coconut.

They have two separate kitchens.  One is dairy free.  The other is dairy full. 
Their food is absolutely amazing.

I believe that they are the only restaurant of their kind on the East Coast.  I KNOW that they are the only restaurant of their kind in this area.

Husband and I went there on Friday to celebrate our anniversary.  It was amazing!  The food is wonderful.  If they hadn't assured me that everything was safe for me to eat, I wouldn't have known that it was dairy and gluten free.

Husband and I split a pizza and an order of Chicken Parm.  The pizza crust was warm and crusty, and tasted just like pizza should taste.  The Chicken Parm was, hands down, the best I've ever tasted!

The baked goods were delightful.  Full of taste, moist and tender, my mouth still waters at the thought of those cupcakes.

The refrigerators just inside the door contain frozen and refrigerated food available for carryout.  The items are clearly labeled with Blue (Dairy Free) and Green (Dairy Laden) labels.  Not only can you eat a great meal, you can pick up safe food to take with you.

The service is fantastic, friendly and warm.  I enjoyed meeting the owners - who insist that you list your food allergies every time you order.  They both take the time to talk with you, get to know you, and assure you about your food safety.  (It's hard for those of us with food allergies to relax in a restaurant.  We ask a lot of questions.)

If you are ever in the Washington/Baltimore area, and you have any food allergies at all, this is your go to place for a meal.

It's taken me a while to venture down here - they've been open for several years, and I've been hearing about them since the day they opened.  I can guarantee that it won't be very long before I'm back again.  I've got a very long list of food that I haven't been able to safely eat in a very long time that I'm looking forward to eating!

You can visit their website, see their menu, and check out their monthly bread and baked goods clubs online here:  http://onedishcuisine.com/

Note: I have received absolutely nothing in exchange for this review.  This is a genuine reflection of my experience at this restaurant.  My opinions are my own!

Tracking Down A Food Allergy

My stomach has bothered me most of my life.  As far back as I can remember, I've had stomachaches and digestive problems.  I've been to doctors and asked why, and been told everything from "it's all in your head" to "stop eating so much salt" down to "lose weight".  No matter what I've tried, I couldn't lose weight, but my numbers were good, so despite the weight, there was no huge push from the doctor to find out more.

Meanwhile, every time I ate, my stomach hurt.  I found myself in pain.  Some nights I woke up from the pain - but there were no answers.

I finally sat down with a nutritionist.  A newly minted nutritionist who had just graduated with a MS and passed the big national certifications.

I spoke at length about my inability to lose weight and my digestive issues.

I mentioned my allergies to soy and sensitivity to gluten.

After much discussion, he convinced me that I most likely had another food allergy that had yet to be tracked down, and he suggested that I try an elimination diet.  An elimination diet is just that - you eliminate a food for a week, and then you add it back in to your diet and see what happens.  I told him I didn't have allergies, because I don't have anaphylaxis.  He told me that most food allergies don't present at anaphylaxis, but instead as persistent digestive problems.

His first suggestion was milk, as it is one of the big allergens.

Rooting out the source of all dairy was harder than I thought it was going to be.  It turns out that finding processed food that doesn't contain milk is even harder than finding processed food that doesn't contain gluten.

At the end of the week, I felt better than I remember feeling in recent years.  The bloating in my stomach had gone down, and my joints had all stopped hurting.  I'd slept through the night almost every night, and I had energy - oh the energy!

When I put milk back into my diet, I felt like someone was running a knife through my stomach from the inside out.  You remember that scene in Alien where the aliens were working their way out of the stomach of their host human?  Yeah, that kind of pain.  The digestive consequences were massive, and my allergies came back with a vengeance.  No amount of allergy medicine could get my allergies under control.  The phlegm was a massive problem - from the moment I started drinking my first post challenge milkshake until about 12 hours later.

I've been off of milk and all milk products for 3 months now.  It's been rough.  Sometimes, I'm not as vigilant as I should be about reading ingredient labels and I find myself suffering the GI consequences for a couple of days after the fact.

The result?  My stomach bloating has gone down.  I'm sleeping well through the night.  I'm losing weight.  My joints have stopped aching.  The redness has left my face.  All of that from one food allergy.  Many, many thanks to the nutritionist that was willing to work with me and listen to me.  He didn't sit down and tell me anything about carbs or balancing my diet.  He listened to my concerns, and gave me real suggestions to see if we could figure out what was going on.  He has my eternal gratitude.  We are now working together on my diet, and I am learning more about food every day. 

(I am really looking forward to Ben and Jerry's Vegan ice cream hitting my local store.)

Here's more information about food allergies from the Food Allergy Research and Education website.

Mild Symptoms (may include one or more of the following)
- Hives (reddish, swollen, itchy areas on the skin)
- Eczema (a persistent, dry, itchy rash)
- Redness of the skin or around the eyes
- Itchy mouth or ear canal
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Stomach pain
- Nasal congestion or a runny nose
- Sneezing
- Slight, dry cough
- Odd taste in the mouth
- Uterine contractions

Severe Symptoms (may include one or more of the following)
- Obstructive swelling of the lips, tongue, and/or throat
- Trouble swallowing
- Shortness of breath or wheezing
- Turning blue
- Drop in blood pressure (feeling faint, confused, weak, passing out)
- Loss of consciousness
- Chest pain
- A weak or "thread" pulse
- Sense of impending doom

Severe symptoms, alone or in combination with milder symptoms, may be signs of anaphylaxis and require immediate treatment.

source: https://www.foodallergy.org/symptoms

Allergies and Halloween

Yesterday, I mentioned that my daughter and husband both have some pretty severe food allergies.  My husband grew up in an age when food allergies were largely ignored, or considered to be a "choice" or that he was a "picky eater".  My daughter has had issues throughout school, and has had to be vigilant and her own advocate since she started school, as many of her teachers and the cafeteria staff thought she was just being "picky".

Yep, the joys of having a milk allergy.  It doesn't get the press that peanut allergies do, but it is every bit as dangerous to her and her well being. 

Anyway, how do you safely celebrate Halloween when your child has food allergies without sucking the joy out of the occasion for every parent, child, and teacher around you?

It's all a matter of how vigilant you are willing to be.

Most schools no longer have Halloween Parties.  When my kids were in elementary school, they still did.  I made arrangements with my daughter's teachers to be in charge of snacks for all of the parties.  I got together with another mom who's child had peanut allergies.  Between us, we decided the most stress free way for us to handle this was to ask for a cash donation - at that time, it was $1/child, and we went out and bought the allergy free goodies ourselves.  We happily bought fresh pressed cider, apples, and brought in popcorn and other safe treats for our kids.   We had a blast shopping and cooking together over the years!  Oh, the year we got a donation of apple cider and pumpkin donuts (dairy and nut free) from one of the local bakeries was amazing!

Anyway, I found a list on the Food Allergy Research and Education Blog about how to have a safe Halloween when your child has food allergies.
http://blog.foodallergy.org/?s=how+to+have+a+safe+halloween.

Here is their list:

• Stock up on safe treats or inexpensive trinkets/toys to trade for any unsafe candies your child might receive while trick-or-treating. You can also use sorting through your child’s candy as an opportunity to teach him or her about hidden allergens and reading labels.
• Enforce a “no eating while trick-or-treating” rule, so that you have time to review all food labels.
• Avoid candy and treats that do not have an ingredient label.
• Always have an epinephrine auto-injector available, if prescribed.
• Keep in mind that the mini-size, fun-size, or bite-size version of candy may contain different ingredients than their full-size counterparts. Make no assumptions, and read all labels carefully.
• Keep the emphasis on the fun, rather than the candy.
• Consider starting a tradition by allowing their kids to leave their unsafe candies out for the “Good Witch” to collect and leave behind small gifts and safe treats.
• Consider making small and safe “goody bags” for neighbors to give to your child. Deliver the bags in advance and describe your child’s costume to your neighbors. Encourage your child to trick-or-treat at the houses in which you’ve delivered the bags.
• Consider skipping trick-or-treating, and have a Halloween party instead, featuring safe and delicious treats. Or, skip the treats altogether by replacing them with other fun Halloween toys, games, or party favors.
• Remember that a candy that has been safe for your child in the past may now have different ingredients. Read the label, every time.

Have a fun and safe Halloween!